Automatic gas-regulator.



No. 773,026. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

' J. L. MURPHY.

AUTOMATIC GAS REGULATOR.

. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 5. 1904.

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No. 773,026. PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

J. L. MURPHY.

AUTOMATIC GAS REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 5. 1904. v

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J2 iforizqy No..773,026. I PATENTED OCT. 25, 1904.

. J. L. MURPHY. AUTOMATIC GAS REGULATOR.

; APPLIOATION FILED HAY'B. 1904.

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I, M z/wy I J fl?- Ear/2y NITE Patented October 25, 1904.

PATENT @rrrca AUTOMATIC GAS-REGULATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 773,026,

dated ember 25, 1904.

Application filed May 5, 1904. Serial No. 206,511. 1N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern- Be it known that 1, JOHN L. h IURPHY, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Gas-Regulators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates to automatic gas-regulators; and it consists of the combinations and parts hereinafter more particularly set forth.

As is well known, where gas-burners are used for lighting, heating, and the like it is very often desirable to turn the flame down, either for the purpose of saving gas or to reduce the amount of light emanating from the burner, and when this is done a danger very often arises from the fact that the pressure of the gas-supply may'not be uniform, and in many instances the flame has become extinguished and the gas continued to issue from the burner, persons sleeping in the room have been asphyxiated, and dangerous explosions have been caused.

My invention has for its object the prevention of any of these possibilities, and by means of the mechanism hereinafter more particularly described I have produced an automatic device which permits the gas to flow only when the gas issuing from the burner is ignited, and if from any cause this flame becomes extinguished the supply of 'gas is automatically cut off.

In the accompanying drawings. illustrating one form of my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention complete. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a cut-out switch for opening the battery-circuitas soon as the cut-off mechanism has been operated. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the thermostat operated by the flame of the burner; Fig. 4., a similar view of the thermostat, but with the protecting-top removed. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the thermostat, showing the various contact-points. Fig. 6 is a side sectional view of the same. Fig. 7 is a plan view of Fig. 1 looking down upon it from above, and Figs. 8 and 9 are detailed views hereinafter more particularly described.

also secured to it the rod 5, to which is rigidly secured the crank 6, having the head 7, connected by the link 8 with the plunger-rod 9, mounted in suitable journals in the frame or bracket 10. This plunger-rod 9 is normally pressed to the left of Fig. 1 by a coil-spring 11, and an auxiliary rod 12, pivoted at 13 in the frame 14, tends to hold back the plunger 9 when it is in its normal position; but when released and the spring 11 allowed to force it to the left the pivoted auxiliary rod 12 is operated by the spring 15 and serves to assist the movement of the rod 9 to the left, thereby operating the valve 3 and shutting off the gassupply. 7

The rod 9 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 9 by having its lower end contact with the face of the sliding member 16, mounted in the frame and maintained in the position shown in this figure by means of the coil-spring 17 in the well-known manner. This sliding member, however, carries upon it an iron or other suitable armature 18, lo-' cated within the magnetic field of the magnet 19, and is provided with an opening or passage 20, through which the rod 9 is forced when the armature is attracted by the magnet upon the closing of the electric circuit.

Upon the back of the insulated support 21 are secured two contact-plates 22 23 and a contact-spring 2 1, which is normally pressed down upon plates 22 and 23 and closes the circuit through the same. Mounted in the support 21 and so located as to be operated by the plunger 9 is the insulated reciprocating rod 25, which when struck by the plunger 9 forces the spring 24 away from the contact-plates 22 and 23 and opens the circuit between them, as will be hereinafter more particularly de scribed.

The foregoing mechanism, in combination l with a suitable battery, comprises one form of mechanism adapted to operate the valve when necessary electrical contacts are made, and 1 will now describe my contact-making mechanism, which is operated by the flame of the burner and which in turn sets the cut-off mechanism in operation upon the withdrawal or extinguishing of the fiame. In the form shown in the drawings my contact-making device consists of an expansion member 26, suitably mounted in the shell of the thermostat-27, as at 28, which expansion member, as shown, consists of two strips of metal having different coefficients of expansion riveted together and being curved in the arc of a circle, as shown, tends to straighten when heat is applied thereto and will be held in a more or less tense state so long as the application of the heat is continued. In the thermostatic chamber is also mounted the segmental rack 29, having a limited pivotal movement and connected by a link 30 with the expansion member and adapted to be operated thereby. A pinion or small gear 31 is mounted to engage with and be operated by the rack 29 and is rigidly secured to a spindle 32-, suitably journaled in the thermostat-box, and upon the other end of the spindle is rigidly secured the pointer or contact-maker 33. \Vithin the thermostat-shell and electrically insulated is mounted the plate 3a, through which extends the spindle 32, a fiber or rubber bushing 35 securing the necessary electrical separation,

and in electrical contact with the plate 34L and insulated from rod 32 upon the fiber bushing is mounted the contact member or linger 36, having an insulated contact surface or portion 37. The pinion 31 and rack 29 are so 1 proportioned that the full expansion of the expansion member 26 will cause about two revolutions of the contact-finger 33 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 5, and at the end of the first revolution it contacts with the insulated portion 37 on the linger 36 and while electrically insulated therefrom moves it around in the direction of the arrow, as will be hereinafter explained. Electrical circuits and connections are provided as follows: The contact-finger 36 has a sliding and constant electrical connection with the insulated plate 3a. This plate is connected by a wire 38 (not shown in Fig. 6 for the sake of clearness) to the battery 39 and through contactplate 22, spring 24, plate 23, wire eLO, to one end of the magnet-coil. The other end of the magnet-coil is in electrical contact with the metallic frame 10, which in turn is connected by the wire ll with the metallic support 42, upon which the thermostatic shell is secured, and the finger 33 being electrically connected l with the shell upon contact with the linger 36 (see Fig. 5) makes a complete closed circuit through the system.

The operation of the device is as follows: \Vhen the gas is turned off, the plunger 9 will be normally in the position shown in Fig. 3, the rod 25 in contact therewith forcing the spring 2% away from contact-plates 22 and 23, thereby maintaining the circuit open. Upon opening the supply-cock 3 the plunger 9 is moved to the position shown in Fig. 1 and held there by the sliding member 16, as shown in Fig. 9. Spring 24 immediately forces the rod 25 inwardly and closes the circuit through plates 22 and 23, and it usually advisable to hold the valve open until the flame is ignited at the burner. As soon as the heat from the flame affects the thermostat 27 the expan sion member tending to straighten operates the rack and pinion and separates the contact-lingers 33 and 36 and opens the circuit at this place. As long as the flame of the burner remains lighted the heat continues to affect the therl'nostat and maintain the contact-lingers apart; but should the flame become extinguished for any reason and the heat withdrawn the resiliency or contraction of the expansion device immediately causes the rotating linger 33 to return until it makes electrical contact with the finger 36, (see Fig. thereby closing the circuit, cruising the magnet to attract the armature 1S, releasing the plunger 9, and shutting off the gas-supply, the plunger in cooperation with the rod forcing spring 24 back and opening the circuit between plates 22 and 23. It will thus be seen that the electric current required for operating the device is used only when the eutofl' mechanism is set in motion, that it is used for but a very short period of time, and thus a great saving of electricity and battery service is obtained.

By means of the particular arrangements of my thermostat 1 have devised a mechanism which is particularly sensitive to different degrees of heat within a wide range without impairing the efliciency and certainty of operation of the device. If, for instance, the burner is turned .on full at once, the expansion member 26 will be caused to undergo a considerable change of tension, and in my device its resiliency is not impeded or its expansion limited by a stop device of any kind. If the finger 33 is caused to rotate more than a single revolution, it contacts with the insulated portion of the sliding member 36 and moves it forward until the limit of expansion is reached. Upon the flame being totally extinguished or so far reduced as to cause the thermostat to operate the linger 33 will by the contraction of the expansion member 26 be turned in a direction the reverse of that indicated by the arrow, Fig. The sliding member 36 will remain in the position to which it was moved by the finger 33. Therefore the finger 33 will only need to make one full revolution, when it will contact with the conducting portion of sliding member 36 and operate the cut-off mechanism. The thermostat 27 is so constructed as to cause the gas to be shut ofl at varying degrees of heat. Thus if the heat has been suflicient to cause the finger 33 to make one and one-half revolutions the gas will be shut off after one revolution of said finger on the return and before the expansion member 26 has fully resumed its normal position, whereas if the heat has only been suificient to cause the finger 33 to make one revolution or a part of arevolution the gas will be shut 01f when the finger contacts with the conducting portion of sliding member 36 in its normal position. By this means the device will respond to any material variation of pressure in the gas-supply and will in every case shut ofl the gas before or as soon as the flame is withdrawn or the issuing gas extinguished.

It is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made in my apparatus without departing from the general nature thereof, and I do not limit myself to any specific or concrete mechanism; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In an automatic gas cut-ofl', a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, and spring-actuated means controlled by a thermostat operating at different temperatures for shutting ofl the supply when the flame is extinguished, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic gas cut-ofl', a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, and means controlled by a thermostat and an electromagnet operating at difl'erent degrees of heat for shutting off the supply when the flame is extinguished, substantially as described.

3. In an automatic gas cut-ofi, a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, and means controlled by a thermostat operating at different temperatures for shutting ofl the supply when the flame is extinguished, substantially as described.

4C. In an automatic gas-regulator, a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, a thermostat located in proximity to the burner and operated by the flame thereof, and electromagnetic means comprising a magnet, a source of electricity and an electric controlling means for automatically cutting off the supply of gas when the flame is extinguished, and means for automatically breaking said electric circuit after the gas is cut off, substantially as described.

. 5. In an automatic gas-regulator, a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, spring-actuated means for operating the said valve and thermostatic and electromagnetic means for releasing the spring mechanism, said mechanism comprising a plurality of springs ditterentially disposed when the valve is open, and both adapted to effect the closing of the valve, when released, substantially as described.

6. In an automatic gas-regulator, a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, a thermostat located in proximity to the burner and operated by the flame thereof, spring-actuated means for operating the valve; comprising a plurality of springs differentially disposed when the valve is open, but acting in conjunction to close the valve when the spring mechanism is released, and electromagnetic means comprising a magnet, a source of electricity and an electric circuit for automatically releasing the spring mechanism and cutting ofl' the supply of gas when the flame is extinguished, substantially as described.

7. In an automatic gas-regulator, a burner connected to the source of supply, a valve for regulating the supply, a thermostat located in proximity to the burner and operated by the flame thereof, spring-actuated means for operating the valve comprising a plurality of springs diflerentially disposed when the valve is open, but acting in conjunction to close the valve when the spring mechanism is released, and electromagnetic means comprising a magnet, a source of electricity and an electric circuit for automatically releasing the spring mechanism and cutting off the supply of gas when the flame is extinguished, and means for breaking said electric circuit operated by the cut-off mechanism, substantially as described.

8. A thermostat for a gas-regulator comprising an expansion member, a plurality of electrical movable contactpoints,one of which is connected to and operated by said expansion member, said contact-points being arranged to close the circuit Whenever the heat operating the thermostat is Withdrawn or materially reduced, substantially as described.

9. A thermostat for a gas-regulator, comprising an expansion member, a spindle operated by said expansion member, a contact member fixed to revolve upon said spindle and a second contact adapted to be operated thereby and to close the circuit for operating the cut-ot'f mechanism, substantially as described.

10. A thermostat for a gas-regulator comprising an expansion member, a movable spindle operated thereby, a contact member on said spindle, a second movable contact member adapted to be operated by the first and provided with conducting and insulated portions, each of which is adapted for contact with the first contact member in the operation of the device, substantially as described.

11. A thermostat for a gas-regulator comprising an expansion member, an electrical contact-arm connected thereto and operated thereby, a second arm provided with an insulated portion, and so arranged that the circuit is closed through said two arms whenever the heat-operating thermostat is withdrawn or materially reduced, substantially as described.

12. A thermostat for a gas-regulator comprising an expansion member, an arm in electric circuit adapted to be moved by said expansion member, a second arm also in circuit with which the first arm is normally in electrical contact, provided with an insulated portion with which the first arm engages upon the expansion of the expansible member, substantially as described.

18. In an automatic gas-extinguisher, the combination of a burner connected to a gassupply, a valve, a thermostat in proximity to the burner, an electromagnet controlled by the thermostat, said thermostat and electromagnet in an electric circuit, means for shutting oil the gas controlled by the electromagnet and means for automatically breaking the circuit after the gas is shut off, substantially as described.

14. In an automatic gas-extinguisher the combination of a burner connected to a gassupply, a valve, a thermostat andan electromagnet in an electric circuit, the thermostat adapted to operate the electromagnet upon the extinguishing of the flame, with means controlled by the electromagnet and outside of the electric circuit, for shutting oil the gas as described.

15. In an automatic gas-extinguisher, the combination of a burner connected to a gassupply, a valve, a thermostat and an electromagnet in an electric circuit, the thermostat adapted to operate the electromagnet upon theextinguishingoftl1eflame,with means controlled by the electromagnet and outside of the electric circuit, for shutting off the gas when the flame is extinguished, and means for automatically breaking the circuit after the gas is shut off, substantially as described.

16. In an automatic gas-extinguisher, the combination of a burner connected to a gassupply, a valve, a thermostat and an electromagnet in an electric circuit, the thermostat adapted to operate the electromagnet upon the extinguishing-of the flame with means controlled by the electromagnet and outside of the electric circuit, for shutting off the gas l when the flame is extinguished, said apparal tus being autoniatically set in operative position upon the turning on of the gas, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\ when the flame is extinguished, substantially JOHN L. MURPHY.

l Witnesses:

ADoLrH F. DIUsE, A. C. Fisonnn. 

